Raindrop Cherry Blossoms
by Kalvin Edward Rumwyn
Summary: The samurai and the noble were friends and it seemed they would remain that way forever. The only thing left to do was curl up and watch the world begin anew.
1. Spring and Autumn

**AN: **This is my first (and probably only until I watch the show) attempt at an SNK fanfiction.

There were two things that were certain about the odd noble and his loyal serf. First, the noble—a young man named Kirushutain Jan—was absolutely poor, yet wholly honoured by those he employed. Second, the loyal samurai—a man around the noble's age named Botto Maruko—might have found enlightenment before his allotted time.

Wherever the master went, the samurai was sure to follow. The noble and the samurai became friends quickly and spent much of their time together. Often, the master could be found reciting his poems to the samurai who only smiled and nodded politely.

One day, after they enjoyed tea, they sat and stared at the master's garden. Cherry trees bloomed and shed their pale pink blossoms. The noble sighed, holding one up and inspecting its natural perfection.

The samurai interrupted his master's thoughts and told him, "You're very popular, yet you are a poor nobleman. I mean no disrespect."

The nobleman nodded and set the blossom down between them before he asked, "What do you mean, then?"

"I mean you will do great things for the people you rule," the samurai said, smiling and cupping the other's face with his right hand. The nobleman returned the smile, admiring the little freckles on the other's face.

"Do you think so?"

"I know so, sir," the samurai promised. "You can empathize and understand how they feel and what they need."

The noble nodded, sighing softly, "I suppose you're right." Then he stood up slowly. The samurai followed his actions, rising slowly. The noble huffed, "I have work I must do."

"Then you should go do it," the samurai told him, chuckling slightly.

Nodding, the noble went off to sign off on certain orders and decrees for the people of his realm. Soon, the noble came across a declaration of war. Hesitantly, the noble signed it, looking over at the samurai, who was relaxing outside. Part of him wondered what exactly he had done.

When the maple leaves turned red and orange and began to scatter in the wind, the noble sent his friend off to war. They had only the memory of the spring to get them through the rough times that made peace cower. The noble sat outside and, as leaves fell, raised his hand to the sky.

"Come back safe and come back soon," he whispered to the wind. He hoped that his friend was safe in spite of the suicide war he had been sent to.

Hopefully, spring would blossom again in spite of the bleak winter.

The first blossoms of the cherry trees had been painted pink by nature when the samurai returned with one less arm. When the noble saw him for the first time, the samurai strained to cup his master's cheek with his non-existent right hand.

The noble insisted that the samurai have the best rooms and food while he recovered. He only hoped the samurai would recover.

The noble came into the samurai's room and sat next to him, stroking his hair.

"What is the purpose of a soldier?" the samurai asked.

"The purpose of a soldier is to fight," the nobleman replied.

The samurai hummed thoughtfully and stared out at the garden and gathering clouds. Then he stared at his missing arm and sighed. Slowly, he drew a knife from the folds of his clothes and, before the noble could react, held it to his own throat.

The noble reached for the knife, but the samurai seemed insistent on dying. He pressed the knife to his throat and a single red raindrop fell to the floor.

"The purpose of a soldier may be to fight," the noble replied, grabbing his friend's arm gently at the elbow, "but you are more than a soldier. You are my friend and you have the brightest smile I've ever seen."

The samurai's hand relaxed and the noble moved his hand up, creeping up on the knife. Then the samurai dropped the knife and hugged his friend. The noble held him close, rubbing his back.

"I apologize," the samurai muttered, crying into the other's shoulder. "I thought I would dishonour you by being so crippled."

"You have done no such thing," the noble replied, holding his friend closer. "You can still work for me. If you prefer, you can go be a monk in one of those temples."

The samurai shook his head and told him, "I have no taste for battle and no thought to leave you."

The noble nodded, "Then you could still serve under me. Something peaceful and away from the battle."

"I like that," the samurai replied. He looked up and sighed, "It is raining."

"So it is," the noble replied, watching the rain.

"It's cleansing," the samurai whispered. "It's also cold."

The noble chuckled, as did his friend. The noble lay down and let his friend rest his head on him. It was warmer that was and they both liked it.

Together, they watched the world begin anew.


	2. Summer and Winter

Things had changed between the noble and his servant. No longer did Botto Maruko fight in his master's name. No longer did the master call him by his family name, either. To Kirushutain Jan, his servant was simply Maruko.

Currently, Maruko was smiling and tending to his master's garden with his only arm. The garden, Kirushutain found, was his servant's only place to be at peace.

"Is something wrong, sir?" Maruko asked, knowing the noble was thinking intently about something.

"How do you find peace?" Kirushutain asked. "You are young, yet understand the meaning of life and all it has to offer. Why is that?"

Maruko laughed, something that made Kirushutain smile with him. Maruko looked at the garden and sighed before he explained, "You taught me everything has a purpose. Even if it is damaged, it can still be useful." Maruko came and sat next to his master, smiling at the summer garden.

"That was almost a year ago," Kirushutain pointed out. "Do you truly not wish to fight? Have you found peace in my garden even after I sent you to lose your arm in battle?"

Maruko nodded, "I did. The reason why is because you let me stay and see the garden blossom with every season." He sighed and extended his left hand, showing his master the garden, "Even though this will all be dead under the snow, things will bloom again in spring. That is how I see the world."

Kirushutain nodded, understanding his servant's reasoning a little better. Then he asked, "Is it hard to use that arm?"

Maruko smiled and shook his head, "Not as much as it used to. I get better with every day that passes."

"Can you still make beautiful calligraphy like you used to?" the master asked.

Maruko laughed and nodded, "I can, but they're not as beautiful as they used to be. I will need a lot more practice before that happens." He stood up and reached his hand down to help his master up.

Kirushutain stood with his help, only thinking that his servant needed all the time he could spare to practice.

Maruko was practicing his calligraphy while his master practised politics only a few feet away from him. Kirushutain sighed at the staggering war declarations he should have signed. Instead, he removed those sheets and burned them. Maruko looked over at him quizzically.

"I'm sick of war," Kirushutain explained. "From now on, there will be no more war."

Maruko nodded, "That is a wise decision."

Kirusutain looked out at the snow-covered garden before turning and telling Maruko, "War brings winter and never summer."

Maruko nodded again and added, "The only way to bring summer is to use words."

Kirushutain nodded and began to write letter after letter, inviting diplomatic paths for the other nobles that caused such uproars. Smiling, Maruko went back to his calligraphy.

"Your smile is summer, Jan," Maruko stated. "I'm sure your words will be a warm summer for all the people you rule."

Kirushutain only grunted, continuing to work on the massive pile of letters. Inside, Kirushutain knew the servant was right.

The last meeting was over and Jan left richer than when he had walked in. Trade would be increased in his realm, eliminating the biggest cause for war. He had also made some powerful allies in the meeting, allies that would have been dominating foes.

"Shall we sit in the garden, sir?" Maruko asked, smiling.

Jan nodded and told him, "It's summer again."

Maruko knew what the other meant and nodded. "A warm and beautiful summer all across the land, sir."

Jan sat, watching the summer garden and all of the life in it. There was so much green where only two seasons ago there was dead white.

Maruko smiled and let his fingers touch his master's while he noted, "You did well. You were blunt about what you wanted."

Jan nodded, "I thought it would be foolish to be so explicit."

"No," Maruko promised, "it was perfect."

Jan nodded, smiling at the summer garden. His servant was right, Jan knew. Maruko, who had lost one arm, had reached earthly enlightenment. Jan only hoped he could do the same.


End file.
